Seib & Wessel: The Sequester Cuts Begin to Bite

3/1/2013 11:39AM

The painful spending cuts called the sequester are finally here. WSJ's Julian E. Barnes and Colleen McCain Nelson discuss the real effects - including military preparedness - as well as the significant political risk for President Obama and Republican lawmakers.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... I ... this feels like the week ... the government when all all ... the sequester kicks in sequester the automatic across the board spending cuts that take decisions and almost everybody's him so was the big decisions ... um in a way that I don't think any of us ever anticipated ... but so what it is today ... I think it's over like the pilots are flying the plane and they got into an argument ... that are so busy argue with each other that they've taken the autopilot no pilots careening ... the new ID argument cockpit continues unabated ready to give the passages are holding on for dear life ... the sequester the across the board spending cuts was something put into place ... because it was a pleasant it would force them to do the right thing ... sometimes smarter deficit reduction ... to blow up in their face ... hope the cuts are going to go into effect ... if you believe the White House that everybody in America will be in shock on Monday ... I think that's not true it's gonna take a long time for this to actually did ... it and both sites have decided apparently that ... it's better to take these across the board spending cuts ... because they don't like the alternative to have to do to get the site to ... it and it's left the White House thinking they have the political upper hand for now but probably a little worried that that's not a guarantee they'll have the political upper hand forever on this thing exactly there's there's an expiration date on accept ... that public opinion polls battling show that's a lot of voters agreed with Obama is approaching and think that way he is ... proposing sounds more reasonable ... by ... comparison with the coming days when risk is that the cuts on the NBC data facts ... and people are inconvenienced and eventually people just I just a ... bit of talks on everyone's house and the blame on Washington putting Obama ... and other risk is that the cuts that and and they're hiring any ... any major problems and in Obama and the missed ration look like they ... bypass the Commonwealth and they said this was going to be terrible and if it's not candy was kind of says it has a theory that the president always owns more of anything that happens and he deserves on the upside or the downside of the economy's good he gets more credit to users of their problems and explain whether he should or not and that may be a long-term ... contest the one I would wait ... for the rest of that so these are really these were designed to be protected ... so that that's ... a lot and dun talk to people in the Pentagon all that one talk about is ... the furlough that's coming and how they're gonna lose a chunk of their ... their Up teacher ... aam but like the other cuts ... aam the ones that are hitting immediately are pretty easily reversible ... the carrier that was supposed to deploy the Middle East is sitting ... up at talking Virginia ... aam should the deal come about in the in the next month back and set sail ... of the longer term effects like TV unit out of the rotation for training ... ALM that will have the that that that is years down the line one will have fewer ... units are ready to come to expect that estimate the defense is the place where this really Ishmael some the other stuff is just exaggerated in terms of years with the effects can be that ... the defense is a particular case because ... it's up in percentage terms a bigger cut than it is another domestic programs plus it's on top of a drawdown of the drawdown that every big guns and a dozen talented ... traders who wrote the uniform person also could affect ... the so the civilians in the military for their ally ... get the big one in the car is the uniforms are exams and that means a your car on the civilian side and there's a huge civilian workforce on in in in the partner depends ... this is also a mean there's been sequesters in the past of the federal government goes above four percent this is up ... more than nine percent cut for the military ... over a condensed ... period time combined with the continuing resolution above ... all or overall spending rate ... means ... there's a lot of pitching and so did the final deal how to sum ... up ... room for the president to move the wrong accounts they can reduce it but you gotta remember that ... it has been through ... a bunch of different cuts already to ... get ... more efficient so what has been cut ... to fit into the point is that for lockup appear reasons in percentage terms its place is ... that even ... in the Pentagon to cutting the cunning as anywhere else ... the Democrats calculation that would make the Republicans hated so much that they wouldn't let it go into effect it just us giant ... dentist said it has proven that that that is hard to walk in the Republican party ... who used to have a lot to say are reduced and their influence now in the Congress of the ... top of the year for example that you know in ... in ten years it has talked about this ... as has been selling this alarm for a long time for for months years ago he could've done some these reverse it but ... so what's so the risk for the Democrats but it is so the both of the prison at this point plus there's opportunity cost things that are the present elected to be shoved into the background ... Republicans are against the risks are essentially that um they're not very popular ... their brand name is not very good ... everybody's first inclination is to blame them for anything goes wrong idea is that a fair summary of a political tactic that that that they're sorry and and I think its interesting some Republicans in Congress ... however I think from the position have ... nothing to this parody in a bad place in terms of ... popular King and hands and BRZ had that great ... yet and no ending the ... day you know but not the Oreo or maybe just a plant in France and Republicans to defend you know why I mean this thing this trick ... I'm not in danger of losing my C Eclipsys prevents that this is when I when to get any any moral leverage by playing ball with it the White House and Senate ... that they're just beginning the week and weekend anymore and I feel are still at school background with the kids ... to clean his courtiers ... it's it's almost like believing they can agree ... is a little like Obama ... this is this fall ... but some of the Lindsey Graham Francis a like ok look ... I don't want to raise taxes but that's when things get this done let's do it ... is insane why we wanted him to the issue ... some people are saying I want smaller government when it cut spending I can get away with it this way ... other people say this is lunacy these across the board spending cuts hurt our priorities is most things ... with the boys ...